Contracts Signed to Promote International Cooperation in Education along “the Belt and Road”

On April 11th, memorandum of international cooperation in education along “the Belt and Road” has been signed in Beijing between the Ministry of Education and 6 provinces and regions including Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Qingdao.

According to the memorandum, the signing parties, with objective of serving and constructing education community along “the Belt and Road”, will coordinate the quality resources both at home and abroad to create a talent pool for the development of “the Belt and Road” and usher a new situation for international cooperation in education.

In July 2016, the Ministry of Education issued The Initiative to Jointly Establish Cooperation in Education along “the Belt and Road”, which has been listed among the 165 major projects to be implemented during “The 13th Five-Year Plan” (2016-2020). The Ministry of Education is now taking the initiative to sign agreements with provinces and regions to build the platform for educational cooperation along “the Belt and Road”, providing favorable policies for the relevant parties to achieve positive result as soon as possible.

Previously, the Ministry of Education has signed memorandum of cooperation with 8 provinces and regions including Gansu, Ningxia, Fujian, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hainan, Xinjiang and Guangxi. Altogether, 14 provinces and regions have joined the Initiative. The international platform for educational cooperation covering major provinces along “the Belt and Road” has been established.

Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education said that hundreds of projects of different levels have been organized to promote joint efforts in accelerating educational development along “the Belt and Road”. Major supports in macro guidance, two-direction studying abroad, running international schools, country and regional research, cultural exchange, capacity cultivation, platform construction will be provided by the Ministry of Education to bring regional advantages and local features into full play and to promote educational development along “the Belt and Road” in an coordinated way.